This application claims the priority of German patent application Serial No. 198 47 800.3 filed Oct. 16, 1998. The disclosure of the German patent application, as well as that of each United States and/or foreign patent and patent application mentioned in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to improvements in web splicers, and more particularly to improvements in apparatus for treating adhesive commodities ahead of the actual splicing station. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for transferring thin commodities, which comprise pairs of adherent sides, from a normally flexible strip-shaped carrier of such commodities to one side of a first web which is to be spliced to a second web by means of the transferred commodities.
Apparatus of the above outlined character are utilized in various types of machines or production lines for the making and/or processing of smokers"" products, e.g., rod-shaped smokers"" products. For example, it is customary to make plain cigarettes in a machine wherein a continuous rod-shaped filler of natural, reconstituted and/or substitute tobacco is draped into a continuous web of cigarette paper. Webs of convoluted cigarette paper are stored on reels, and the trailing end of a running cigarette paper web (which is being drawn off the core of a first or preceding reel) must be spliced to the leader or leading end of a (fresh) web which is convoluted onto the core of a (fresh) reel. Such mode of splicing (namely while the wrapping mechanism of the cigarette making machine continues to receive a web of cigarette paper) renders it possible to achieve pronounced savings, not only because the number of rejects (which are invariably produced in response to each starting and each stoppage of a cigarette maker) is greatly reduced but also because each stoppage of a modern high-speed cigarette maker involves huge losses in output.
Similar or analogous splicers are or can be utilized in machines for the making of filter mouthpieces for tobacco smoke, in so-called tipping machines wherein plain cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars are united with filter mouthpieces to obtain filter cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars of unit length or multiple unit length, and in cigarette packing machines wherein webs of (for example) cellophane, metallic foil and/or plastic foil are draped around arrays of plain or filter cigarettes (or other rod-shaped smokers"" products).
Apparatus of the type to which the present invention pertains are employed ahead (upstream) of the aforedescribed or analogous splicers (for use in tobacco processing or numerous other plants) to apply to the leaders of successive fresh webs thin commodities in the form of patches of paper, plastic or other suitable material. Such commodities act as so-called uniting bands and, to this end, have first adhesive sides separably adhering to a normally strip-shaped carrier and second adhesive sides serving to adhere to the leaders of fresh webs. Once the first adhesive side of la uniting band has been separated from its carrier, it can serve to adhere to the trailing end of an expiring web.
The first step of utilizing such uniting bands (having pairs of adhesive sides) involves attachment of the exposed (second) adhesive side of at least one uniting band (the first adhesive side of which adheres to its carrier) to the leader of a fresh web, and the second step of the method involves separation of the first side of the uniting band from its carrier (i.e., while the second adhesive side already adheres and continues to adhere to the leader of a fresh web). The next-following (third) step constitutes the splicing of the leader of the fresh web to the trailing end of the expiring (preceding) web in that the first adhesive side is caused to contact the trailing end of the expiring web while the second adhesive side continues to adhere to the leader of the fresh web. The expiring (or expired) web then proceeds to entrain the leader of the fresh web into the wrapping mechanism of the web-consuming or processing machine.
Published German patent application Serial No. 43 03 171 A1 discloses an apparatus employing a carriage which is movable transversely of a fresh web (while the fresh web is at a standstill) along a linear path. The carriage supports a roller which serves to press the exposed adhesive-coated side(s) of one or more uniting bands on a strip-shaped carrier against the leader of a fresh web while the other side of each uniting band adheres to the carrier. The carrier is drawn off a supply reel in response to movement of the roller against the stationary fresh web, and a takeup reel collects the leading end of the carrier subsequent to transfer of one or more uniting bands onto the fresh web. The transferred uniting bands form a file or row extending transversely of the leader of the fresh web.
A drawback of the just described conventional apparatus for manipulating uniting bands having dual adhesive sides or surfaces is that they are rather complex, bulky and expensive. Moreover, such conventional apparatus (including those described in the aforementioned published German patent application) are designed exclusively for automated or automatic transfer of uniting bands. On the other hand, it is often desirable to employ an apparatus which can be operated automatically, semiautomatically, as well as or by hand. Furthermore, it is not always desirable to apply a series of two or more uniting bands to the leader of the fresh web (e.g., a web of wrapping paper including cigarette paper or the like) in such a way that the applied uniting bands form a file or row extending transversely of the leader of a fresh web, i.e., of the web which is to be spliced to the trailing end or to another portion of an expiring or (in the meantime) expired web.
An object of the invention is to provide (for the manipulation of thin commodities having first and second adhesive sides and being utilized in web splicers) an apparatus which is simpler, more compact, more reliable and less expensive than the aforedescribed and other conventional apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is more versatile than heretofore known apparatus, for example, because it can be operated automatically (e.g., in response to signals from a sensor monitoring the supply of running (unexpired) web on an expiring reel, as well as by hand.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be installed in existing web-consuming or web-processing machines as a superior substitute for apparatus presently used in cigarette making, cigarette filter tipping, cigarette wrapping and/or other machines.
An addition object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of manipulating, in or ahead of a web splicer, uniting bands of the type having pairs of opposed adhesive sides or surfaces.
Still another object of the invention is to provide the above outlined apparatus with novel and improved means for reliably separating uniting bands from their carrier and for reliably attaching the thus separated uniting bands to predetermined portions (e.g., to the leaders) of webs of cigarette paper, cellophane, other plastic materials, tipping paper, wrapping paper and/or other types of webs which can be attached to preceding or next-following webs by means of an adhesive substance.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved combination of a web splicer and a uniting band dispensing or applying apparatus of the above outlined character.
Another object of the invention is to provide a machine or production line which processes running webs of wrapping material or the like and employs one or more splicers and uniting band-treating or processing apparatus of the above outlined character.
The invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for transferring thin commodities (such as small patches of paper or plastic sheet material, hereinafter called uniting bands) of the type having first adhesive sides contacting one side of an elongated carrier (e.g., an elongated flexible strip of paper or the like) and exposed second adhesive sides intended to contact an elongated web (e.g., the leader of a web of cigarette paper, tipping paper or wrapping paper of the type utilized in the tobacco processing industry). For example, once the leader of a fresh web of convoluted cigarette paper in a cigarette rod making machine has received one or more uniting bands, such uniting bands can be utilized to cause the leader of the fresh web to adhere to (i.e., to be reliably connected with) the trailing end of an expiring web of cigarette paper so that the leader of the fresh web can be entrained into the wrapping mechanism of the cigarette rod making machine. Reference may be had, for example, to FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,285 granted May 27, 1997 to Rolf Dahlgrxc3xcn for xe2x80x9cAPPARATUS FOR MAKING FILTER TIPPED SMOKERS"" PRODUCTS HAVING A NON-CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTIONAL OUTLINExe2x80x9d.
The improved apparatus comprises means (e.g., one or more driven rollers) for intermittently advancing the web lengthwise along a predetermined path, a back support (e.g., an anvil or the like) for the web in a predetermined portion of the path, and means for moving the carrier between a first position in which the carrier is remote from the web section in the predetermined portion of the path and a second position in which the exposed second adhesive side of at least one uniting band on the carrier contacts the web section in the predetermined portion of the path.
The uniting bands at the one side of the carrier can be distributed in such a way that they jointly form one or more elongated files or rows of spaced-apart discrete uniting bands.
The moving means can include means for moving the carrier between the first and second positions in a plurality of stages which may not need not be of equal duration and which may but need not immediately follow each other (i.e., with or without intervals between successive stages). Such moving means can comprise a support (e.g., a plate-like support or base) which is movable between the first and second positions, and a retaining device which is movable with and relative to the support between extended (idle) and retracted (operative) positions. One of the aforementioned stages can include a movement of the support from the first position to an intermediate position in which the retaining device contacts the web in the predetermined portion of the path and urges the web against the back support while the web in such predetermined portion of the path is spaced apart from the exposed second adhesive side of at least one uniting band on the carrier. Another stage (particularly the stage immediately following the just described one stage) can include or involve a movement of the support from the intermediate position to the second position and relative to the retaining device (namely while the retaining device maintains the web at the back support) to thus move the exposed adhesive second side of at least one uniting band on the carrier into contact with the web section in the predetermined portion of the path.
The moving means can further comprise a guide for the carrier. Such guide is movable with the support, and the retaining device is preferably arranged to become disengaged from the web section in the predetermined portion of the path upon completion of movement of the support from the second position to the intermediate position.
The retaining device can comprise means for clamping the web against the back support in the predetermined portion of the path in the intermediate and second positions as well as between the intermediate and second positions of the support. Such retaining device can further comprise resilient means (e.g., one or more pre-stressed coil springs) for biasing the clamping means against the web while the support dwells in the second and intermediate positions as well as during movement of the support between the second and intermediate positions. More specifically, the resilient means can serve to yieldably bias the clamping means from a position (relative to the support) corresponding to the aforementioned retracted position to a position corresponding to the aforementioned extended position of the retaining device.
The retaining device is or can be adjacent the guide. The latter can be fixedly connected to the support, and the retaining device (and more specifically the clamping means of the retaining device) can be mounted on the support.
The support is or can be mounted in such a way that it is pivotable between its first and second positions.
As already mentioned above, the carrier can comprise an elongated strip carrying one or more files of discrete spaced-apart uniting bands. The apparatus for the transfer of uniting bands from such carrier can further comprise a first rotary reel provided on the moving means and serving to pay out convoluted strip (with one or more uniting bands thereon), and a manually or motorically rotatable second rotary reel serving to collect successive portions of the strip-shaped carrier which are devoid of uniting bands as a result of transfer of uniting bands onto the web. The guide of such apparatus can be provided on the support.
The apparatus can further comprise means (such as a friction brake or another suitable brake) which yieldably opposes undesirable rotation of the first reel in a direction to pay out (discharge) united band-carrying lengths of strip-shaped carrier.
The advancing means moves the web lengthwise in a predetermined direction. The carrier can extend in such direction to overlie the web section in the predetermined portion of the path in the second position of the carrier. This renders it possible to apply to the leader of the web a series of two or more uniting bands, e.g., uniting bands which are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the web.
Furthermore, the advancing means can be arranged or set up to intermittently advance the web in the predetermined direction, preferably into a splicing unit wherein the uniting band-carrying leader of the web is spliced to the trailing end of a second web in a second portion of the path downstream of the aforementioned predetermined portion. Alternatively, the improved apparatus can be utilized to transfer one or more uniting bands to the trailing end of a first web to thus allow for attachment of such trailing end to the leader of a fresh web.
The back support can constitute a pneumatic table, i.e., it can comprise means for pneumatically attracting the web in the predetermined portion of the path.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and the mode of assembling and operating the same, together with numerous additional important and advantageous features and attributes thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain presently preferred specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.